It has been said that it is impossible to be too rich or too beautiful. But a study by psychologists suggests that fashion models are being made miserable by their glamorous lives.

The survey of models found that the main difference between models and other people was unhappiness due to a lack of respect for their profession. The "size zero" debate about whether models are too skinny had not helped.

Factors affecting happiness were said to be loving relationships, and feelings of being competent and in control of their lives. The models surveyed lacked all three. "Models are explicitly valued for materialistic, superficial reasons (their appearance) and not for their intrinsic, personal qualities (eg personality, wit character, talent etc) ... The message is that models ordinarily have beauty but not intellect," said the research in the Journal of Positive Psychology by City University psychologists.

The psychologists interviewed 56 models and 53 non-models - 63% of both groups were female. Models reported slightly lower levels of wellbeing but significantly lower satisfaction with their lives. The study concluded that "despite their higher levels of attractiveness" models were no happier than anyone else and considerably less satisfied.

Dr Bjorn Meyer, the lead author of the study, said: "If your job values you solely for your looks or your ability to walk up and down, opportunities for experiencing this satisfying sense of competence may be limited."

Sarah Doukas of Storm Models, which represents Kate Moss and Alek Wek, said: "The point with modelling is that it gives young women the opportunity to earn a decent salary - it's actually one of the few industries where women earn a lot more than men - to travel extensively, and to work with exciting and creative people."